Samuel david cairns



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1,

s. D. CAIRNS. TROLLEY FOR ELEGTROMOTOR CARS.

N0. 435,011. Patented Aug. 26, 1890 \A/ITNEEEEZE bk/ENTER WM 4. 7M W 2M4 @W (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

, S. D. CAIRNS. TROL-LEY'FOR ELEUTROMOTOR CARS.

No. 435,011. Patented Aug.26,1890m UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

SAMUEL DAVID CAIRNS, OF TROY, NEXV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURTHS TO DENNIS J. WVHELAN, \VM. J. ROCHE, AND JAMES T. QUINN, ALL OF SAME PLACE.

TROLLEY FOR ELECTROMOTOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 435,011, dated August 26, 1890. Application filed February 19, 1890. Serial No. 340,990- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL DAVID CAIRNS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and now a resident of the city of Troy, county of Rensselaer, and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trolleys for Electromotor-(Jars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of dero vices which are employed upon street-cars propelled by electromotors, and which devices are used to run upon the under side of an overhanging electric-circuit wire to receive an electric current therefr0m,and by and through which the current is communicated by means between said trolley and the motor to the latter and from thence to the rails and earth as a return part of a circuit. As used, this class of devices is arranged upon the end of an arm that is pivoted to the car-top, and by means of a spring and rod that connect with the trolley-arm at its end beyond where pivoted, by which spring and red the outer end of which trolley-arm and the pulley-wheel 2 5 thereon is forced upwardly, so as to run on and to be in contact with the overhanging circuit-wire, and with the said arm adapted to be reversed on its pivoted connection, so as to be at the rear of the car when the latter is reversed as to moving direction.

Accompanying this specification, to form a part of it, are two plates of drawings, containing two figures illustrating my invention with the same designation of parts by letterreference used in both of them.

Of the illustrations, Figure 1 shows a side view of a street-car with my improved trolley applied thereto, a dotted line designating the reversed position of the trolley-arm. Fig. 2'

40 shows aside elevation of my improved trolley anda part of the arm on which it is supported, with the parts shown in larger size than at Fig. 1.

The several parts of the apparatus thus 4 5 illustrated are designated by letter-reference, and the function of the parts is described as follows:

The letter O designates the car; A, the trolley-arm; R, a rod provided with an en'cir- 5o cling spring S, said spring being connected at P to the lower end of said arm,and the latter above where thus connected being pivoted at p Said spring is also connected at a to the rod B, so that when said armA is in the position shown at Fig. 1 the pressure of spring is forced against its connection at a on the end of the arm A, below where pivoted, to keep the outer and trolley end up in engagement with the wire V, and when positioned as shown by the dotted line (1 of Fig. 1, then the tension force of the spring as pulled upon its connection at a also tends to force upwardly the outer end of the arm A, and thus cause the other trolley T to make an engagement with the wire XV, the arm thus constructed and arranged to be reversed, and as operated by the spring S independently of the improved construction of the arm and the employment of duplicated trolley-pulleys, being an old and well-known mechanism.

The letterYdesignates a bifurcation of the arm A, by which the latter is forked, so as to produce the two bracket branches B B.

The letters D designate a plate, of which there is one for each'of the bracket branches B B. Each of these plates D is centrallysecured to one of the bracket branches at right angles thereto by means of screw-plates (Z and each of these plates D is provided with studs'l, that are upwardly projected from the corners thereof. Each of these studs is provided with an encircling spiral spring S The letters D designate a plate that is provided with holes 0, made in each of the corners thereof, and each of these plates D is threaded onto the studs Iof each of the plates D, so that the studs I thereof pass freely through the holes 0 made in the plate 1D and so that the plate I) rests 011 the said springs where surrounding the studs. The upper end of each of the studs I is provided with a headnut II, which is threaded onto the ends of each of the studs I where projecting through the plate D As thus made the plate D is made automatically adjustable on its con- 5 nection with the plate D by means of the studs and their encircling springs.

The letters J J designate journal-arms that are attached to the outer surface of each of the plates D and exteriorly projected therefrom; zoo

and the letters 13 b designate bearings formed therein, and the letters T T designate the trolley-pulleys, each of which is made with a perimetral groove g, and each having an axle a adapted to turn at each end in one of the bearings 19 of the upcast journal-arms J of each duplicated part of the trolley. As thus made, the pulleys T when each is separately engaging with the wire W, is elastically held in contact thereat, and so that the force of the contact is regulated by the spring S Thus constructed with the two arms BB and duplicated trolley parts, when the arm A is reversed, so as to be at the rear of the car when the latter is changed in direction, the trolley-pulley engaging with the wire before the arm is reversed becomes idle and the other trolley-pulley makes the engagement with the wire. As thus made with duplicated trolley parts, with each of the latter constructed to automatically adjust elastically in its contact with the wire, the pressure upon the latter is regulated, and the movement of the trolleypulley is less noisy, w hile the elastic condition of the pressure upon the wire made by the trolley-pulley renders the connection with the latter more certain when passing switches or around curves on the track .the plate holding the trolley-pulley being adjustable in any direction.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is-

1. The combination, with a trolley-arm that is pivoted at its lower end to the car-top, and operated'with its upper end to engage with the under side of an overhanging circuit-wire by means of a spring when said arm is projected upward from either end of the car, substantially as described, of two bracket-arms projected from the upper end of the trolleyarm to be in line with each other, a trolleypulley arranged on each of said bracket-arms, and an elastic connection made between said bracket-arms and each of said trolley-pulleys,

substantially in the manner as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with the trolley-arm A, bifurcated at its outer end to produce the bracket-arms B B, and at its lower end pivoted to a car-top and provided with a spring that forces it upwardly at its outer end to engage with an overhanging electric-circuit wire when projected from either end of the car, substantially as described, of a plate D, made wit-h the studs I, having a spring encircling each of the latter, said stud-plate being arranged upon the outer end of each of said bracket-arms, a spring-plate made with passages and adapted to be passed down over said studs to bear upon said springs and be secured thereon by means of nuts on the studs of each of said stud-plates, and atrol-,

ley-pulley arranged upon each of said springplates, substantially in the manner as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a trolley for an electric-motor car, the combination, wit-h a trolley-arm made with the bifurcated bracket-arms B B, of a plate D, made with the studs I projected from the upper face thereof and each having encircling spring S the spring-plate D made with passages that register with the upper ends of said studs, one of said spring-plates being adapted to be passed down over the studs of each of the said stud-plates, so as to rest on the upper ends of the springs thereon, a nut on the ends of said studs where passing through each of said spring-plates, and a trolley-pulley mounted on the outer face of each of said spring-plates, substantially in the manner as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed at Troy, New York, this 7th day of November, and in the presence of the two witnesses whose names are hereto written.

SAMUEL DAVID CAIRNS. 

